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Imagining New Ways of Being Catholic: The Underground Church

By Kathleen Kautzer, Ph.D.Associate Professor of SociologyRegis College

Oct 28, 2006

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Context of Study

Underground Church Movement to reform the Church and/or Create worship communities beyond (or beneath) the reach of Vatican

control

The study draws on nonviolent theory To describe and analyze the reform movement To predict possible avenues for achieving structural reform

Structural reform would include but not be limited to: Formal role for laity in decision-making Fiscal transparency and accountability More inclusive priesthood Renewing and expanding the spirit and direction of Vatican II, especially principles of subsidiariness and conciliation.

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Scope of Study: Resistance CommunitiesBased on the research conducted by Kathleen Kautzer, Associate Professor of Sociology, Regis College

Borderline Communities

Convents in which Catholic nuns perform

their own liturgies (including Eucharist) and

new types of rituals.

Vigiling Parishes that are resisting closure orders from the Archdiocese and conducting their own rituals. Example: St. Albert

the Great in Weymouth, MA.

Eucharistic Communities that are at least tolerated by

the hierarchy and rely on “insider priests”* but engage

in church reform work.

Parishes with progressive pastors who support laity Empowerment (in varying degrees) and allow open discussion regarding Church policies.

Example: Our Lady, Help of Christians in Newton, MA.

Underground Church(Defined as groups, parishes, or networks of parishes that operate outside of

Vatican approval or control, and engage in church reform work.)

Above-Ground Communities

* Insider priests are priests who are recognized by the Vatican.

Eucharistic Communities thatare not approved by the Vatican,rely primarily on lay persons or

“outsider” priests”* to perform the Eucharist, and engage in church

reform work. Example: Community of God’s Love in Lowell, MA.

Networks of parishes that provide a governance structureand support services for “under-

ground” parishes. Examples: Ecumenical Catholic Communion,

Ass. for Contemporary Catholic Life, Reformed Catholic Church.

Parishes that are not recognizedby the Vatican, but retain the “Catholic” label and engage inchurch reform work. Example:

Spiritus Christi in Rochester, NY.

* Outsider priests are priests who have married, resigned or been defrocked.

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Catholic Reform Organizations

• Voice of the Faithful.• Voice of the Faithful.

• Call to Action• Council of Vigiling Parishes

• Call to Action• Council of Vigiling Parishes

• Dignity• Corpus• Women’s Ordination Conference• Catholics for a Free Choice

• Dignity• Corpus• Women’s Ordination Conference• Catholics for a Free Choice

Insider Tactics• Protest • Persuasion

Insider/Outsider Tactics• Non-cooperation

Outsider Tactics• Nonviolent Intervention• Parallel Institutions

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Interesting Feature of Underground Church

Refusal to allow Vatican to define what it means to be Catholic Ida Raming rejects excommunication Spiritus Christi defines itself as “independent” Catholic Church Tom Doyle’s response to Cyndi Desrosiers at 2004 VOTF Convention Joanna Manning’s book title: “Is the Pope Catholic?” Some challenge meaning of “Catholicism

Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza offers this definition of feminist catholicity:

1. Both as inclusiveness and openness to all people, cultures and religions, and as opposed to sectarianism and religious individualism.

2. As openness to truth and values wherever they are encountered.

3. As ability to bridge divisions, generations and historical chasms.

4. As the recognition that the Divine Spirit-Wisdom creates solidarity in diversity.

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Above Ground Communities:Our Lady Help of Christians

Newton, MA

Vatican II Parishes Disappearing

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Above Ground Communities:Our Lady Help of Christians

Newton, MA

Parish selected by Paul Wilkes highlighted in his book “Successful Catholic Parishes”

Pastor subjected to series of punitive actions by Cardinal Law and later O’Malley for his leadership role in organizing letter signed by 58 Boston priests demanding Law’s resignation.

Cuenin’s firing in October 2005 evoked widespread protest from parishioners and VOTF as well as ridicule and disbelief from Boston press.

Former Law spokesperson Rev. Coyne lasted only 4 months.

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Above Ground Communities:Our Lady Help of Christians

Newton, MA

Cuenin’s story relevant because he admitted openly he has considered leaving church.

He has visited underground churches and is currently forming intentional

community. Some of his former parishioners are forming

underground parish in Boston. In a number or parishes story of Our Lady’s

is being repeated as newly appointed bishops or priests shutdown programs and fire staff (ex.: Bishop Finn In Kansas City).

Other examples: New Jersey. Many dissident priest in Boston have no

parish. Vatican II priests dying, retiring or leaving ministry.

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Marginal Communities:American Nuns Conduct Priestless Liturgies

Female Religious Orders Marginal because of their “insider status”

Nuns from several communities report being unable to find priests, even to conduct funerals for deceased nuns.

Even when priests are available they often are hurried and too busy to prepare meaningful homilies.

Feminist nuns resent relying on priests to conduct liturgies.

Pattern of priestless liturgies may be extensive.

Book by Miriam Therese Winter ‘eucharist with a small e.’

Robert Blair Kaiser documents practice widespread in Europe.

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Marginal Communities:Jesus Our Savior: A CITI Community

Married Priests marginal—insider due to cannon law status but regarded as outsiders by Vatican

Community holds weekly liturgies at church building that was originally a Catholic parish

Three married priests alternate presiding at liturgy.

CITI has roughly 20 Communities across the U.S.

Married priests also preside at liturgies for Dignity communities and other Eucharist communities

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Vigiling ParishesVigiling Movement of Twelve Boston area parishes to resist closure spreads to a network of parishes

nationwideVigiling Parishes marginal because their resistance is aimed at reinstatement within institution.

St. Albert the Great, the first of the vigiling parishes in Boston reopens after over one year of vigil.

Vigiling movement effective form of nonviolent resistance that challenges cliché: “The Vatican always wins.”

Vigiling movement has spread to many dioceses. Future Church has developed handbook and CTA workshop for vigiling churches.

Some CTA churches have evolved into underground churches.

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Catholic Women Priests

Danube ordinations in 2005 Five women ordained in boat on

Danube River. These women have graduate degrees and professional credentials in theology and ministry.

Vatican officially excommunicated these women.

Bishop who conducted ordinations was former Catholic bishop who now heads Independent Catholic Apostolic Church of Jesus the King.

One of those ordained, Austrian Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger established independent three year ministerial training program for Catholic women who seek ordination.

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Ontario Ordinations

Ordinations on St. Lawrence Seaway in 2005.

Two of these nine ordained women were wives of married priests, Marie David and Jean Marie Marchant.

Marie and her husband now run a retreat center with a recently constructed chapel, where an intentional community is being formed among Cape residents.

Jean Marie Marchant received extensive media attention in July 2006 when she resigned as director of health care ministry for the Boston Archdiocese, coming out of the closet to reveal her secret ordination. She is involved in underground church that is emerging in Boston.

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Pittsburgh Ordinations

Pittsburgh, Pa. in 2006 8 American women and 4 deacons

ordained by Women Bishops Gisela Forster, Patricia Fresen and Ida Raming.

These women were ordained by Catholic bishops in good standing whose identity remains secret.

These series of ordinations have been widely publicized and have drawn mixed reviews from reform groups.

CTA will features women priests in a pre-conference workshop at their conference in Nov.

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Runaway Parish—Spiritus Christi of Rochester, N.Y.

Jim Callan of Spiritus Christi Transformed dying inner-city parish

into vibrant parish of 4,000. Enjoyed protection of liberal Rochester

bishop Matt Clark. Fired in 1998 under orders from

Vatican Cardinal Ratzinger. Accepted invitation to serve as pastor

of former parish community. Presided over creation of independent

Catholic parish that has become a beacon and training ground for underground movement.

Spiritus Christi is highly-acclaimed Vatican II parish with extensive network of social justice ministry.

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A Path breaking Ordination

Mary Ramerman of Spiritus Christi A convert to Catholicism who

earned a Masters Degree in Theology.

Served on staff of Corpus Christi. Ordained in 2000 following vote of

approval by parish community. She runs programs for “illicitly”

ordained women. Insists women priests needs hand-on in-service training in ministry.

Her story helped inspired wave of illicit but valid ordinations in Europe, Canada and U.S.

She conducts liturgies with remarkable degree of presence and warmth.

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Could this be ground zero (AP)?

St. Stainaslaus Kostka of St. Louis Parish chose to defy order from

Archbishop Raymond Burke to turn over 9 million in assets.

Priest Mark Bozek and lay board formally excommunicated. Tom Doyle helped involved in appeal to reverse excommunicaitons.

VOTF sent letter of support. 1,500 attend Christmas liturgy. Church not particularly liberal

theologically—suggests that under appropriate conditions conservatives will resist hierarchical control.

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A Creation Spirituality Community

Jubilee. A Creation Spirituality Community that boasts 800 members and that describes itself as “earth friendly” and committed to Fox’s ‘original blessing theology.

Pastor Harold Hanger is graduate of Matthew Fox’s University of Creation Spirituality.

Jubilee raised over $1 million to renovate space that facilitates ct inclusive, participatory liturgy.

Rituals include but are not limited

to Catholic features.

(Note vestments).

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An Independent Parish with Catholic Roots

Grace Church of Dover,Massachusetts

Located a stone’s throw from large Catholic parish.

Referred to itself as ecumenical community but has all the trappings of Catholicism.

Founders are a formerly Catholic couple who were dismayed by the retreat from Vatican II.

Like many underground churches, it is small and intimate (seating capacity 100).

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A Missionary Bishop of the Underground Church

Bishop Peter Hickman of Ecumenical Catholic Communion

Convert to Catholicism, he is a married bishop who dissents from church teachings on women, gays, divorced Catholics and limitations on Eucharist.

I have been quoted as describing him as a “missionary” who seeks to build bridges with Catholic reform movement and Eucharist communities.

He claims 23 parishes and 5,000 members as part of his network Ecumenical Catholic Communion, which has designed a constitution based on ARCC principles.

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St. Thomas Liberal Catholic Church

Liberal Catholic Church is a network of small parishes that began in England in 1915-6, splitting from Old Catholic Church.

Liberal Catholic Churches use traditional Catholic liturgy and sacraments.

St. Thomas Cathedral on W. 144th St. in New York City is black congregation with five priests.

Bishop James P. Roberts Jr. is son of founder.

Liberal Catholic Church accepts married priests, homosexuals, divorced, women’s ordination and “freedom of thought.”

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Networks of Independent Catholic Parishes

Apostolic Catholic Orthodox ChurchAthanasian Catholic ChurchAvalonian Catholic ChurchCatholic Apostolic National ChurchCatholic Church of AmericaThe Catholic Diocese of One SpiritEcumenical Catholic CommunionFriends: Catholic CommunionThe Liberal Catholic ChurchThe National Catholic Church of AmericaThe Old Catholic ChurchThe Old Roman Catholic ChurchPolish National Catholic ChurchThe Reformed Catholic Church

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Disadvantages of Underground Church

Lack Vatican approval. Regarded as “schismatic” by many Ongoing struggle for funding and membership. Potential for Cults and Unqualified Leadership. Apostolic Succession can be challenged. Must create communities from scratch. Seminaries only beginning to emerge—several rely primarily on on-

line courses or previously ordained priests. Stability and permanence are problematic.

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Advantages of Underground Church

Not restricted by Vatican pronouncements. Vatican has actually promoted some cult-like organizations such

ash Opus Dei, Folocare, Neocatechmenate. Can keep alive vision of Vatican II and create prefigurative models

of future church. Serves as Mecca for gays, women and Vatican II Catholics who

cannot tolerate dictates of hierarchy. Challenges dualistic categories that separate laity/clergy;

men/women; celibate/married; sacred/profane. Raise consciousness of those who are resistant to change. (i.e.,

married priests and women who preside at liturgies) Priests must be elected and/or establish their own communities. Most underground churches have extensive policies for weeding out

pedophiles and other types of persons unfit for ministry.

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CONCLUSIONS

Some people fight from the inside and some people fight from the outside and the walls of Jericho come tumbling down.”

--Sister Marie August Neal

Anger that is not acknowledged and processed is paralyzing, but anger that has legitimate outlet is capable of generating immense social energy for change. Community organizations sometimes call this energy sanctified anger and identify it as the kind of energy that hope needs in order to operate . . . First there must be a public outcry of pain . . . Private pain generates no social energy. . . Second, the community must know who or what is responsible for the pain (ideology critique). Only then is social and religious imagination generated.

--Paraphrase of Walter Brueggemann

We’ve got to be inside, outside, alongside, wherever there is an opening for change. --Larry Kessler, AIDS Activist.

The church of the future will be built from below, even though it will be a call from the gospel and the message of the Church coming out of the past.

--Karl Rahner